George meets a girl part 2: George Bryce to the rescue!
by Claidheamh Mohr
Summary: George Bryce and Co. Return to Algeria to finish the job. Claymores mentioned.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I do not own claymore

A week after returning from his surveillance assignment in Sherman Oaks, California, and his meeting with three of the claymores and several high ranking vampires, including their queen, Henrietta Maria.

George Bryce was growing more anxious, Roger Tate had recently been ordered out of Algeria. While not good news, it was far better than him being summarily executed.

Henri Du Valliere's Antonov had finally been confiscated by the Islamists and he was now out of a job, his pleas for restitution had fallen on deaf ears and he was told he was lucky to be alive.

Recent events in Mali and the French military intervention there also kept him on edge. While he tried to hide it from Mia, now in her fifth month of pregnancy, she still sensed it and finally, she coiled her long, powerful tail around him, wrapped her arms around him and said softly, "I know something is bothering you, I am your wife and I am a lamia, you cannot hide your concerns or feelings from me. It's about my family and what is going on in Africa isn't it?"

Unable to even wriggle in her velvety smooth grip, George said weakly, "You're right, I'm terrified of what's happening there. Roger's been kicked out of Algeria and they took Henri's plane. The Islamists are taking over remote areas in Mali and your family is in terrible danger. What's really killing me is that your mom doesn't seem to appreciate just what sort of danger she and her family are in. Your dad seems to know because he and Roger would talk about it, but your mom is still the 'queen' and he defers to her."

Mia relaxed her coils until he could wriggle a bit and she said quietly, "Dad's talked to me too. Remember, I was his 'little buddy' and followed him everywhere. My sisters were closer to my mom and would be on her side at times, although Natalie has gotten closer to my dad as she gets older."

George slipped his arms around her and they held each other until sleep overcame them.

As he had promised, George had been sending weekly reports of his life with Mia and his concerns about her family still in Algeria, to Henrietta Maria, Queen of the hidden realm. When the first of her replies arrived, Mia had looked at him curiously until after he had explained just who Henrietta Maria was, Mia then gaped and blurted out. "The vampire queen?! That's who she is? How?!... How did you become... her friend?"

George could only shrug and reply. "I'm not sure myself. When I was doing that surveillance mission and with her security people being amongst the best. They quickly found me out and "invited" me in for a little "chat" with her. Considering their size and strength advantage over me, I couldn't refuse her invitation."

"And?"

"I told her about you and our family and my concerns for your family."

"You told her that?"

"I just felt compelled to tell her about myself. Apparently, she has a soft spot for romantic tales and mine being the truth, really struck a chord with her. She asked me to keep her posted on our progress and one does not refuse, a royal request!" He finished with a wink and a grin.

Mia rolled her amber eyes and commented, "Mom was right! You are a true innocent." George smiled at her and said cheerfully, "I haven't told you the rest of the news... Anna Karlsen, the author. She wants to interview us for material for a new book she wants to write."

"Whaatt?!" Cried Mia as George took her into his arms and squeezed her in that special way. She squeezed him back and purred, "Why darling, I think you're all excited, let's talk about this in our bedroom!" By morning, Mia was agreeable to being interviewed by a famous author.

George opened the email Roger had sent the night before, it included a photo of him and Henri dressed in a French Air Force uniform, posing together in front of a French Air Force Chinook helicopter.

It turned out that he really was a reservist in the French Air force and with his experience in rough terrain landings and familiarity with the Sahara desert, getting his old rank back was a doddle. The text read:

"When you are ready to fetch the rest of your family. We have a plan for you, it will have to be done during all of the confusion in Mali over the next few weeks. Henri and I have done exploratory fly overs and think we can pull it off during the next new moon when all is darkness... Don't dawdle!"

George forwarded a copy to his boss Rachel Thompson, then he opened an email from Anastasia Karloff.

She was requesting confirmation and a date for an interview with him and Mia, their story was inspiring to her and she wanted to write a novel based loosely on it.

Glancing at the calendar, he noted the next new moon was in about three weeks. It would be close, there was no chance of Mia helping out, she would be well into her sixth month of pregnancy.

He would have to enlist Natalie's help in dealing with her mother, Ayesha. Phillip, her father was already on board about them all coming to Arizona. He started typing...

Rachel and George were studying the satellite photos they had gotten from the military.

Out in front of the lamias' cave was a clearing almost large enough for a big helicopter to land in, the most recent photos showed that the area was now larger.

Roger had assured them that Henri was a qualified chopper pilot as well as a fixed wing pilot and that given enough room, he could pull it off.

The latest email from Mia's dad was also encouraging, he and Natalie had discreetly enlarged the area in front of the cave for a chopper to land in and they had quietly gathered the family treasures for rapid removal.

Ayesha seemingly, had not caught on yet that something was up. Nevertheless, Roger during his last visit, had slipped Phillip some liquid tranquilizers to discreetly administer to Ayesha, just in case she was objecting.

Using the GPS coordinates, they planned the route from the border of Mali to the oasis. Flying by the route planned with the GPS and keeping below any possible Algerian military radar, they figured on slipping across the border, making the extraction and getting back before the French military caught on that one of their helicopters was out for a joy ride. The Cryptozoology Museum would have a Gulfstream G 650 ER jet on standby, courtesy of Henrietta Maria.

George arrived at the airport and boarded the Gulfstream jet, already onboard were Roger Tate as co-pilot and Rachel Thompson as museum liaison. A brief flurry of handshaking, backslapping and manly hugs later. Roger sat in the nearest seat and grinned at George before saying, "Well Georgie! We're finally gonna do what we should've done months ago. Kidnap the rest of your family!" He briefly glanced at his watch and remarked, "When we land in Mali, we'll hook up with Henri and about that same time, Phillip will slip Ayesha a mickey. It'll probably take all of us to carry her out to the chopper, but we'll get her out." George smiled slightly and commented wryly "And I'll have to face her when she wakes up in Arizona!" Rachel chuckled and said cheerfully, "All of us will have to face her! Though, there are times when it's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."

The cockpit door opened and an athletic, blonde haired woman came out, her hair was cut in a sort of pageboy look and her combat attire fitted her rather well. She grinned at them and said eagerly, "Is everyone here? We are ready for take off!"

George got a good look at her eyes and noticed the silvery gray tint to them. He remarked to her, "You seem familiar somehow, I've met a couple of other women that had eyes like yours."

She gave him a crooked smile and replied lightly "It could be just a coincidence, plenty of blonde haired women have gray eyes."

George grinned at her and replied, matter of factly, "That's true, these ladies were hard to overlook though. The tallest is named Sheila, then there was Galatea, she had to be possibly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, almost otherworldly. The last was Miria, a real no-nonsense leader type."

The woman grinned at him again and said cheerfully, "Well, my name is Helen, Helen Larsen and I will be your pilot and close quarters combat specialist tonight!"

A short time later, the slender Gulfstream was rapidly accelerating down the runway and soon, it was airborne and climbing to cruising altitude. Once the seatbelt lights went out everyone unbuckled and relaxed. George studied the maps and aerial photos of the planned 'interventionary incursion' flight path, he wanted to memorize every nuance of the planned excursion just in case of unforeseen problems.

The sleek jet taxied to a halt at the Timbuktu International Airport just after dark, the long non-stop flight was over. Once outside the jet they gathered in a small group trying to seem innocuous, Roger had his satellite phone out and to his ear. A minute or two later he spoke, "Henri, we are here!"

Within minutes, a French military truck pulled up and stopped, the side window opened and Henri was grinning at them, he said cheerfully, "The chopper's warming up right now and waiting for you people!"

George quickly went behind the truck and dropped the tailgate, Roger helped Rachel up and when he turned to assist Helen, she grinned and jumped up into the truck with ease.

Roger grinned up at her and said sarcastically, "Okay, I won't help you then!" Helen just laughed and reached out her hand, Roger took it and nearly yelped when she easily hoisted him into the back of the truck.

George just laughed and said, "I thought you looked familiar, you're friends with those ladies I met!" Helen just grinned at him in her crooked way and replied innocently, "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

He clambered into the truck and it sped off towards the cluster of military vehicles and large tents outside Timbuktu.

Over the roar of the truck, Roger said to Helen, "I take it you're coming with us? You realize we could be in some real danger, I barely got out of Algeria with my neck in one piece!" Helen smiled at him and replied nonchalantly, "I've been in tough places before and you'll need an extra set of hands for this little party!" She reached up and caressed the hilts of the twin katanas slung across her back.

The truck pulled up and stopped next to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter with its rotors whirling lazily.

Moments later, they were strapping themselves in as the rotors gained speed until with the big helicopter rose and started forward to head off towards the Algerian desert with the thin crescent of the new moon setting in the west behind them.

Roger took out his satellite phone and after a few moments he said, "Phillip! Yeah it's me, we're on our way, we've just left Timbuktu and we're bringing a cargo helicopter. If you're going to slip her a mickey best do it soon, I'm bringing some help so we can grab your things and scoot. I've got your son-in law with me too, he had to leave Mia at home 'cause she's getting pretty big now! We'll see you in about four hours... What's that? Oh you'll know when we arrive... A Chinook is one big mother humper of a helicopter!"

Hour after hour the Chinook droned along, Henri flew with one eye on the GPS screen and one looking through the windscreen.

With their night vision goggles on, both he and Roger resembled something out of a nightmare, Roger sat in the co-pilots seat and called out the altitude figures as Henri expertly negotiated the desert terrain.

Helen was sitting between them peering forward into the gloom, her silvery gray eyes watching for hazards the others may have missed. George and Rachel sat silently, thinking of the coming extraction and just how they were going to pull it off.

Crossing into Algerian airspace, Henri brought the heavy chopper as low as he dared and called out, "We're now a military incursion into Algerian airspace! This bird is equipped with stealth mode rotors so we won't be too noisy. Still, we gotta watch our backsides!"

Roger called Phillip again. "We're in Algeria now, we should be there in a hour and a half or so. If you haven't given Ayesha the sedative, do it soon!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I do not own claymore

Phillip added the sedative to the tea that he had made and took it to Ayesha.

She took the beverage and held it for a few moments before looking at him and asking quietly, "Is this the sedative that Roger gave you to keep me from trying to stop our leaving here?"

Even after many years of marriage, Ayesha still had the upper hand.

Phillip could only smile weakly and reply sheepishly, "Yes it is. They are coming here tonight. George and his friends have gone through a lot of trouble to get us out of here."

Phillip then straightened himself and stood as tall as he could before declaring firmly, "We are leaving here, we are leaving this life of fear and uncertainty, of hiding from religious fundamentalists who would see us all dead! They will kill you and our daughters, then me for having fathered them."

Phillip's voice rose in intensity as he cried, "I have deferred to you on many things, but! On this, I am adamant! I will not see my family slaughtered, I will not see you dying while defending me or our children, I will not let you see me dying in yours or our children's defense!"

Ayesha's deep amber eyes glinted and she slipped her tail around him.

Helplessly, he was drawn into her embrace and her lips kissed his deeply, soulfully and tenderly.

Her lips parted from his and she murmured, "I've known for some time now that you, George and Mia were up to something. Natalie showed me the pictures Mia sent her of their new home in Arizona, the homes they are building for us and the friends they've made."

Ayesha looked around the cave home they had lived in for so long and said in reflection. "This has been our home, our girls were born and raised here. If it wasn't for the approaching danger, I would be content to send our daughters away and live out our lives here. Mia is now carrying our first grandchild, I couldn't share my children with my parents. They died before I met you, that won't happen again!"

The couple turned to see three pairs of amber eyes anxiously watching them.

Katherine the oldest, spoke up asking nervously, "What is going on? Dad and Natalie have been clearing away the area in front of the cave and I've noticed that our precious things are packed away and in easy reach. Are we leaving here?"

Rosalind's eyes opened wide and she exclaimed, "We're going to be with Mia?!"

She and Katherine hugged each other and then hugged Natalie before she asked, "When are we leaving?"

Phillip stepped forward and his daughters instinctively formed a protective circle around him.

He looked at each of them in turn and then said quietly, "George and some of his friends are coming tonight, they are coming by helicopter and will be landing in front of the cave. Natalie and I cleared the area to allow it to land, we also packed all of our most precious belongings, especially the ancient scrolls mother inherited from her mother. When it gets here, we won't have a lot of time to get on board so we will have to get everything ready beforehand."

Phillip looked around at his family once more and he opened his arms wide, his daughters all snuggled into his arms and finally, Ayesha wrapped her long tail around her family and they just held each other for a long moment.

Henri called out over the roar, "We are ten minutes away from our destination, prepare for landing!"

Roger and Helen quickly laid out the cargo netting they would use to secure the family's belongings while George and Rachel mentally prepared to deal with several potentially frightened and balky lamias.

Roger once more opened his satellite phone and called Phillip, "Phillip, we are about ten minutes away. Is everything ready?"

He listened for a moment then a big grin broke out on his ruggedly handsome face. Roger cried happily, "That's great! What a relief. We'll be seein' you all really soon!"

Roger grinned at George and announced cheerfully, "You lucked out Georgie! Your mother-in-law is okay with leaving and she's cracking the whip on the girls to get everything ready!"

Feeling a sense of relief passing over him, George smiled and said with tongue in cheek, "I guess I don't get to use my begging for forgiveness speech after all."

Roger laughed and said gleefully, "Don't throw that speech away just yet! You still may have a use for it."

Henri suddenly yelled, "Sacre Merde! There's trucks up ahead!"

Helen peered through her night vision goggles and declared, "I see a dozen men with small arms, nothin' I can't handle! Pick me up on the way back!"

Henri slowed the big chopper as much as he dared until Helen shouted, "That's good!"

She opened the side door and leaped out into the darkness, armed only with her katanas.

Roger cried, "What th...?! That crazy broad, what did she just do?"

George grinned and yelled, "I almost feel sorry for those assholes, she'll wipe them out before they knew what hit them!"

Roger looked at George strangely and asked, "What th' hell are you talking about?"

George grinned at him and replied, "She's a Claymore, I met some of them recently during my last assignment. They're like the ultimate warriors, she'll go through them like a scythe through wheat."

Seeing the look on Roger's face, George was about to elaborate when Henri called out, "We are landing now, take your seats!"

The family was huddled near the cave entrance when the dark bulk of the massive Chinook descended from the night sky, its huge rotors whooping rapidly and the downwash blowing sand, gravel and small objects away.

Ayesha clung to Phillip as the big chopper touched down and its rotors slowed to a lazy whirling.

The side facing the cave opened up and the work lights came on, a dark clad figure jumped down and started towards the cave.

Natalie suddenly cried out "George?!" and she darted towards the figure, moments later she was being hugged by the figure.

Ayesha cried out in amazement. "That's George!" Then she too sinuated towards him and swept him into an embrace.

Two more figures jumped down and approached quickly, a woman's voice called out.

"Mrs. Dexter? I'm Rachel Thompson, I work with George and Mia. We've got to hurry, there's a couple of trucks full of armed men not far from here. One of our people is dealing with it, but we've got to hurry!"

The next few minutes were a blur of figures moving rapidly between the cave and the helicopter carrying things out of the cave and putting them into the massive helicopter. Soon, the belongings were secured and the helicopter had acquired five extra passengers. As soon as the side door was secured, Henri revved up the engines and the heavy chopper rose into the night sky.

Only minutes later, a light flared up on the ground and Henri slowed to a hover about twenty-five feet above the desert floor.

Roger quickly opened a side door and moments later, a black clad figure leaped into the opening and Roger hastily slammed the door shut.

Once back up to speed and the window curtains were drawn, the interior lights came on and everyone got a look at each other.

George was grinning like a fool and he was hugging his in-laws enthusiastically, Roger and Phillip hugged each other and Roger declared happily, "We're not out of the woods yet, but so far so good!"

Helen and Rachel were smiling at the refugees, then Rachel rose and said, "George and I worked together to get this operation underway. Helen here, is also a pilot and is a combat specialist, we borrowed her from her people at the request of Henrietta Maria, the queen of the hidden realm. You'll learn more as we go."

Ayesha smiled at her and said warmly, "Mia has mentioned you and all the things you have done for her, for that, I am grateful."

George smiled at Ayesha and said, "I had to make Mia stay behind, she really wanted to see you guys so much, but she's pretty far along now and I won't endanger her or our baby. We have built some houses for all of you and the Arizona desert is, in my opinion, much nicer than the Sahara. The big plus is, you won't have to worry about Islamic militiamen bothering you."

Before resuming his co-pilot chores, Roger glanced over at the lamia children, they sat quietly on their coiled tails and looked around the interior of the helicopter with their eyes wide open.

Phillip and Ayesha were sitting together, their hands clasped in that way that long time couples often do.

He caught Rachel's eye and she asked. "Would any of you like something to drink or a snack? We've got about two or three more hours of flight time left before we're in the clear and you might get hungry or thirsty."

George quickly stood up and fetched some canned drinks out of the cooler, then handed them out to his family.

He said, "We have a jet plane waiting at Timbuktu airfield, we'll land there and transfer everything to the jet, then it's a long flight to Arizona with a stop to take on fuel."

The droning of the helicopter had soon lulled everyone into a light doze, even with ear plugs in place, it was a noisy flight and it did little to encourage conversation.

Henri's voice coming over the intercom jarred the group awake, "Good news folks! We are now in Malian airspace. I am activating the transponder so's we don't get shot at by our own team. We will be landing in about two hours... Thank you for flying with Privateer Airlines!" George and Phillip stood up and stretched out the little kinks from sitting, the lamias stretched out their tails as best they could.

Rachel was hunkered over her laptop, typing furiously away while Helen was stretched out on the floor dozing.

Just before dawn, a French Air Force CH-47 Chinook helicopter flew in just over the perimeter fence and settled down in its designated parking place.

With the rotors slowing to a stop, the side door opened up and black clad figures exited to start up a military cargo truck and bring it close to the helicopter.

Another figure darted very rapidly towards the Gulfstream and clambered inside.

Fifteen minutes later, the doors on the helicopter were closed up and the truck drove over to the Gulfstream now undergoing the preflights.

The Gulfstream's cargo door was opened and the many objects were loaded on board while the passengers slipped inside.

The doors were finally closed and the truck returned to its parking place. The driver, one Henri DuValliere, Major, French Airforce reservist, paused alongside the truck and waved good bye to the Gulfstream G650 ER now taxiing towards the flight line and heading for home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I do not own claymore

Once inside the jet, the refugees settled into the seats and waited while Helen and Roger went through the final checks.

With seat belts fastened securely, the sleek jet taxied into place and soon the engines spooled up and the exhaust whine became a muted roar.

Suddenly, the jet surged forward gathering speed and pushing the passengers into their seats, the plane vibrated and bumped along the less than perfect runway.

Moments later, the vibrations ceased and the floor tilted back as the jet streaked into the predawn sky. There was a brief bumping noise as the gear retracted and the jet became even smoother as it continued to climb into the heavens, finally leveling off at 40,000 feet.

When the plane had leveled and the seat belt warning light went dark, Roger got up from his co-pilots chair and came back with a big grin on his face. He and George embraced enthusiastically and began laughing together.

Roger exclaimed with a big grin on his tanned face, "We did it! We pulled it off without a hitch."

They faced the wide eyed lamias and George declared joyously, "Mia is going to be so happy! We have worried about you guys ever since we left Algeria."

Roger grinned at him and asked, "Have you called her yet with the good news?"

At George's pained expression, he chortled and remarked,"I thought so! You better call her and let her know, do it now!"

For emphasis, Roger handed him his open satellite phone. It already had their home number on its view screen, Roger reached over, pushed the "Send" button and said cheerfully,"You're committed now fellah!"

After a couple of rings, George heard Mia answer, "Hello?!"

He exclaimed happily, "We've got them! We are leaving Mali right now and they're with us!"

"Wheee!" Cried Mia.

George handed the phone to Ayesha and said happily. "Someone wants to talk to you!"

For the next few minutes, the phone was passed from one refugee to another. They all cried tears of joy and laughed at the same time, Natalie got into the giggles when she talked to Mia and Phillip got very sentimental with her.

Katherine and Rosalind gabbed about what clothing they wanted to get and were curious about meeting prospective suitors.

Ayesha gave her lots of motherly advice and wisdom. When George finally got the phone back, he said soothingly, "Babe? We will be there just as soon as possible. Once we leave African airspace it'll be a lot safer, less likelyhood of a handheld missile attack. Our plane is equipped with countermeasures for such things and our pilot is one of the claymores, her reaction speed is scary fast."

Mia, in a worried tone, asked, "Would they try to shoot you down?"

George said reassuringly, "No worries babe, we're at cruising altitude now. Handheld missiles are only good for low flying aircraft, like at takeoff or landing. Besides, the French military have put a really tight lid on things here in Mali. I'm honestly surprised we were able to borrow one of their big cargo helicopters, Henri and Roger must have something on someone in a high place."

Mia chuckled and remarked drily, "Knowing those two? You're probably right."

George heard voices in the background and asked. "Is someone there with you? I'm hearing voices."

Mia replied gaily, "Iris and Magnolia are here with me. They decided that, 'I was not going to be all alone while you are off playing the hero!" She said with a giggle, "We're watching bad movies, cooking food and having fun. My friends really want to be here when you all get here, they're dying to meet my family. Though I fear they'll kidnap Natalie 'cause she's so cute!"

George laughed and said, "That won't be such a bad thing, she'll keep them distracted after our girl is born so we'll be able to bond with her for a little while at least."

Mia laughed and said softly, "I can't wait til you're in my arms again my love!"

George smiled slightly and said wistfully, "I know exactly how you feel. I'll be home in a few more hours and we'll make up for lost time, I promise!"

He signed off and handed the phone back to Roger with a smile.

Roger grinned at him and said, "I take it there's a welcoming committee at home?"

George grinned back and replied, "Mia"s friends from the costumer's shop are there with her to protect her from boredom while I'm away. They want to meet the family, though we'll inspect their vehicle before they leave 'cause Mia thinks they'll kidnap Natalie!"

Ayesha's ears perked up and she asked curiously, "Who wants to kidnap Natalie?"

George laughed and replied cheerfully, "Just some friends of ours, the people who made all of Mia's clothing for her. The girls are all at our house right now, keeping her company and waiting to meet all of you. Mia joked that she fears they'll kidnap Natalie 'cause she's so cute!"

Katherine and Rosalind were now listening and Rosalind asked, "Mia's friends are waiting to meet us?"

George smiled at her and said, "Mia made quite the impression when she went to get measured for clothing. They had never seen a lamia before of course, though they had helped make a lamia costume for a young woman. The pictures I've seen of her costume look pretty good actually. They really want to meet you all, so I can only imagine the effect all five of you together will have."

Ayesha looked thoughtful and commented hopefully, "Perhaps the world really has changed. When I met Phillip it was right after my parent's death, other than my father, I had never seen a human except from a distance. My mother had drummed it into me that humans were dangerous and were to be avoided. I saw Phillip for the first time and at once, I felt he was different. Not just in his appearance but the feelings I got from him, I cannot explain it any other way. I just had a feeling of gentleness from him. I was so very lonely and I took a chance and allowed him to see me, to my delight he didn't reach for a weapon, he just looked at me with amazement. Then he smiled and offered me something to eat and some water."

She glanced over at Phillip who was talking to Natalie, "Almost thirty years later, he's my husband and father to our four children. Now we're going to a new world to be with our grandchild to be."

She reached out with her tail and wrapped its tip around Phillip's waist and drew him into her arms as she said with a smile,

" Yeah, I'm still nuts about this man!"

The refugees had slept through the refueling in Spain and partway across the Atlantic, waking only when the jet's landing gear came down for the landing in Tampa, Florida. George woke from his doze and looked around at the others.

Natalie was coiled up next to a window and she was peering out with wide-eyed wonder at the scenery below.

Ayesha and Phillip were sleeping soundly with her long tail coiled loosely around him. George smiled at the two, he and Mia slept the same way.

Unconsciously, he wrapped his arms around himself and realized he really missed her, her continual nearness and readiness to slip her tail around him and pull him close, had become central in his life.

All else was secondary to him, he realized that while he would continue to work in his chosen field, he would resent the time spent away from his wife and would pine for her until once again, her tail was coiled around him and they were one again.

Helen's voice announced, "Please fasten your seat belts as best you can. We're landing to refuel and won't be leaving the aircraft." Everyone sat up and fiddled with seat belts while looking out the windows of the jet.

Rosalind asked curiously, "Aren't we in Arizona? I don't see any cactus down there."

George chuckled and replied, "We're in Florida. You won't see many cacti around here, once you get to Arizona you'll see so much cactus, you'll get tired of it!"

Rachel announced, "We'll be doing a bit of a layover here and we'll have some food delivered to us. Then we'll leave at midnight for Arizona and arrive well after dark there. We have a friend at Phoenix international who works the night shift and he'll sign us off and we can disembark without prying eyes watching us."

The pizza arrived quickly and the brightly colored boxes were laid out before the hungry refugees. Helen grinned and said cheerfully, "I love living in this day and age!" as she rubbed her hands together and started to reach for a slice of the cheesy circle of flat bread before her, then paused.

Helen turned to Ayesha and said politely, "I'm forgetting my manners! Would you like some? You can go first."

Ayesha smiled back and replied happily, "I've never seen food like this before, I'm not sure what is good. It all smells so wonderful!"

George leaned in and said quietly, "Here, allow me, mom." He delicately picked out a small assortment of the gooey, cheesy slices, laid them on a paper plate and presented it to Ayesha, telling her, "Mia likes these kinds the best, she'll start out with one slice each of her favorites and a glass of the raspberry tea."

Soon, the refugees were sitting and happily noshing and talking all at once.

Helen ate her two slices and sipped at her drink, Roger noted this and remarked, "For someone as active as you are, you sure don't eat much. Watching your weight?"

Helen chuckled and replied with a grin, "Nah! I just don't eat much, never have. I'm surprised I got down those two slices! Now, drinking I can do!"

Roger grinned and reached for more pizza only to discover that the lamia girls had absconded with it, so he contented himself with the nibblies portion.

George borrowed Rachel's laptop and sent an email off to Her Majesty, Henrietta Maria, it read briefly:

"Your Grace,

We have extracted my family from Algeria without undue incident, and are now waiting to take off from Tampa, Florida. Our next stop will be in Phoenix, Arizona around midnite, we have a friend at the airport who will sign us off at customs. I will send word at once upon our safe arrival. On a more personal note, Anna Karloff has requested an interview with us as soon as it is possible. She and Mia regularly communicate now and have become friends. As for me, I cannot adequately express my gratitude at your considerable support of our efforts at effecting this rescue mission. I am fairly certain that you hear flowery, courtly speech without letup. So I'll limit this to simply saying, thank you very much!

Yours in gratitude,

George Bryce"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I do not own claymore

The beeping alarms woke them all up, Helen stretched and yawned briefly before nudging Roger to wake him up.

George woke up and realized that he had unconsciously wrapped the blanket around himself in imitation of Mia's tail being wrapped around him.

Rachel said cheerfully, "This is the last hop, we'll be in Phoenix in just about four hours at midnight, their time."

The refugees sat up and buckled themselves in the seats as best they could for the take off. The engines started up and and after all of the preflights were completed, they felt the aircraft begin to move into position on the flight line.

Soon, the jet's engines began speeding up and after a pause, the jet began accelerating rapidly. When it felt like the plane was going to run out of space, the nose lifted and the floor tilted as the jet climbed rapidly to its cruising altitude.

After the jet had leveled out, the 'fasten seat belts' light went out and Natalie slipped out of her seat and peered out the small window, after a minute or so she declared in wonder, "It's like a sea of burning embers down below us!"

The others looked out the windows and gazed silently for a few moments.

Ayesha said softly, almost to herself more than anyone else, "Did we do the right thing, coming here so far from our ancestral lands?"

She looked around at her family. Her remaining daughters looked at her, their eyes shining with excitement.

Phillip also looked at her with his eyes brimming with love for her.

He would follow her 'til death they did part, she glanced at her son-in-law, George Bryce. The man who came out of the desert and became her oldest girl's lifemate, only to take her to a new land across the wide sea.

The once safe emptiness of the desert was no more, hard eyed men prowled the trackless desert now, bringing with them a violent interpretation of their faith.

George smiled at her and asked gently, "Are you okay mom? You look a little far away right now."

Ayesha smiled at him and replied softly, "I'm fine son, It's all a bit overwhelming. Only two days ago, I was looking at our melons and thinking about how long it would be until we could start picking them. Now we are high above the earth in a jet airplane, headed to a new land and home. For some reason, I can't help thinking about those melon plants we left behind and wishing I could have tasted at least one of them."

She smiled wistfully and shrugged, "Now I will see my first grandchild and our new home and we can plant melons without fear of them being spotted!"

Natalie sinuated into her mother's arms and slipped her tail around her mother's waist, the two held each other for a few moments then Ayesha said softly to her, "All too soon, you will be too big for twining like this and I will miss these moments we've shared. Soon, I will have a new little one twining with me and she will call me 'grandmother' and you, my love will be her auntie Natalie!"

As they were crossing over Texas, Rachel called Tanja Sims, "Tanja! We are about an hour or so away. We've brought everybody and their personal effects, we'll need a couple of big vans and a truck or something to haul their things." after a pause she said, "It went pretty smoothly, Henri managed to borrow a really big helicopter from his unit and we slipped into Algeria and got out again without anyone noticing." she paused again and replied enthusiastically, "Oh yes! Ask the Whartons. They know the area and have the vehicles to carry our people out to the ranch. In fact, their girls are with Mia right now."

Rachel chuckled and said, "Oh yes, it'll be big news alright. But we'll keep it quiet for a little while longer, at least until the paperwork is finalized. We'll talk more once we land in Phoenix. Bye now!"

Rachel then announced to everyone, "We'll be landing soon, I've made arrangements for transportation out to the ranch you'll be living at. Now's as good a time as any to tell you about it."

Clearing her throat and pausing to take a sip of water, she continued.

"The ranch is surrounded on all sides by the Gila Bend wildlife refuge and is owned by us. It covers about ten thousand acres of land and is dotted with critical desert habitat and archaeological sites, the ranch house itself was built near one of the few surface aquifers, you would call it an oasis. We're allowed to build up to ten housing units with the condition that they be self sustaining and have a minimal impact on the ecosystem. The fact that they're almost invisible from the air is an intentional effect, we don't want what may be the world's first openly existing lamia village to be easily seen from the air for your privacy."

Ayesha's eyebrows went up slightly and she asked quietly, "Do you know of other lamia families?" Rachel smiled at her and replied, "Mia has mentioned that some of the old tales tell of lamias living in Egypt and possibly the Sudan. We do have another team investigating the legends as I speak."

Ayesha said softly, "My grandmother's scrolls may have information that would help in your search, you may examine them if you wish."

Rachel grinned and said cheerfully, "We can wait until you are settled in and unpacked, then we can copy them with a scanner and take the images with us."

Phillip leaned forward slightly and asked, "Just what exactly, does your organization do? George described it as a cryptozoological research society with some real money backing it up, what is the purpose of it?"

Rachel smiled and said pleasantly, "We actually go back some five hundred years, the early European explorers were often supported by us in the hopes of finding the creatures out of legend. Our original intent was to bring these creatures to Christendom, to baptize them and give them 'souls' so they could enter heaven. During the "Age of Reason" fostered by the French revolution, our mission became, not one of conversion to something we had lost faith in, but preservation and protection of the very creatures declared to be 'an abomination' by the holy church. We felt that the hidden folk had as much right to live as anyone else."

Phillip remarked, "That's good so far, how many of these 'hidden folk' have you found so far?"

Rachel grinned and replied, "We made contact with the hidden realm fairly soon after our philosophical change. Queen Henrietta Maria informed us that she had known of us almost from our beginnings, but that she had hidden her realm from us until we had matured as an organization and had seen the light of reason."

George chimed in with, "The Queen has informed me that the original intent behind midnight mass, was so that a vampire could seek salvation and redemption prior to being destroyed as an abomination. There were no takers, to the church's puzzlement."

Phillip looked thoughtful and commented, "I'd like to think that times have changed for the better. What would be the church's position today? If we face persecution in the U.S. We would have been better off staying put."

George blurted out suddenly, his voice choking with emotion, "Don't talk like that... Please! You've no idea of how I have worried and agonized over this, you thought you were safe in your desert, you were wrong. When we came to get you we had to drop off Helen to take out a couple of trucks loaded with Islamist gunmen, they were headed towards your cave. If we had been delayed by only ten minutes, we would have found your corpses. That's how close this was!" All of the refugees unconsciously shuddered at George's remarks.

A tone sounded and a soft voice declared, "Please straighten up your seats and fasten your seat belts. We are beginning our approach to Phoenix International airport, thank you for flying Smuggler Airlines!"

Rachel rolled her eyes and remarked, "How is it she has lived so long? I'm continually amazed that someone hasn't choked her by now!"

George chuckled and commented, "That's Helen for you, she is one irrepressible warrior." "Warrior?" asked Ayesha, George grinned at her and replied pleasantly, "Helen is one of the Claymore warriors, in fact she is one of the stronger ones. No human, werewolf or vampire could defeat one in battle, it is a very good thing she came along."

Ayesha smiled and said. "Your friend Roger seems to be quite taken with her, does he know anything about these warriors you spoke of?" George just shrugged and said cheerfully, "He's a big boy, he'll be okay!"

The change in the vibrations and sounds from the aircraft, caused all of them to belt themselves in and sit up straight.

A resounding "Clunk" signaled the deployment of the landing gear as did the sinking feeling, they were going in.

Minutes later, the jet was on the deck and braking hard to shed velocity.

Looking out the windows, George's in-laws could see the lights of Phoenix, Arizona beyond the fence surrounding the airport, their long journey was almost over.

As the jet taxied up to the side terminal, Rachel made a call, "Hello, Tanja! We are here, we are at the side terminal right now and about to dock." She paused a few moments then replied, " Yes, we'll unlock the door when the ambulances pull up, they'll get inside the ambulances and we'll go to the University hospital for the quick physical and cat scan." a moment later, Rachel grinned and said, "We'll be seeing you soon!"

Three ambulances with their emergency beacons flashing pulled up alongside the Gulfstream jet. George and Rachel exited the jet and after a couple of minutes, Rachel turned and gave the 'thumb's up'.

Helen unlocked the side door and lowered the steps while the medical gurneys were rolled up.

George held out his hand and assisted Ayesha as she exited the jet and slipped onto the waiting gurney, a blanket was spread out over her coiled up tail and she was whisked away to the nearest ambulance.

One by one, the lamias were slipped out of the jet and into an ambulance.

George climbed into the ambulance carrying Phillip and Ayesha.

As the ambulance headed to the hospital he called Mia, "Hey babe! We're here!" he cried happily, "We landed about a half hour ago and now we're headed to the same hospital you went to."

He paused a moment and replied, "Yeah, it's probably going to be the same thing, except your dad will get a quick going over too!"

A pause, "It's just to see if he might have anything wrong with him, he's been away from doctors for many years and a cat scan will find anything he might have wrong with him." another pause, "We'll be home just as soon as we can be, dear." he grinned and said wistfully. "I miss you too, it was so weird sleeping alone last night, with no long tail wrapped around me and you holding me so closely... I love you!"

George slipped the phone back in his pocket and smiled.

Tanja Sims and Sara Thompson were waiting for them as they exited the ambulances and were placed on gurneys and whisked inside by carefully chosen assistants.

Sara was all smiles as she weighed and measured the lamias, she practically squealed when she saw Natalie and exclaimed, "Oh my God! You are so cute! Mia told me she had younger sisters, but she didn't tell me you guys were this cute, all three of you!"

Tanja Sims, MD grinned and said, "Down, fangirl, you have to give her back, her family will miss her."

Sara laughed and said gaily, "I know, but I would sooo kidnap this girl!"

Ayesha's eyebrows raised momentarily, George chuckled and said. "She's the one who will be assisting with Mia's delivery and she also helped us with getting new clothes for Mia. She is a good egg and wouldn't really kidnap Natalie, though I will be checking the trunk of her car after she's been up for a visit."

Ayesha smiled and said cheerfully, "And I'll be right next to you!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

To show that the CT scanner was safe, George went through it first, then he held Natalie's hand as she went through.

Phillip stood next to Sara as she watched the images on her monitor, then he remarked. "It's a bit strange to see the organs in action like that." Sara grinned at him and replied, "I'm using a higher resolution than normal to capture as much detail as possible, anything like a tumor shows right up."

Doctor Sims approached the gathered family, smiled and said happily, "I've looked at your test results and the cat scans, we've collected DNA samples from all of you and the only thing I can do now is send you home with George. You're all quite healthy, which is great for you. I will be adding your cat scans and DNA samples to our data base on lamias. George, Sara and I will be coming out tomorrow afternoon to check on Mia. I have a portable ct scanner now and we can take a look at your baby and see how she looks."

She grinned and said, "You're free to go and it was a pleasure meeting you all... That means you have to let her go, Sara!"

Sara cried, "Awww... Do I have to?" She and Natalie had already become quite chummy. Sara grinned and said cheerfully, "I'll be coming up tomorrow to help Tanja, so I'll see you guys then!"

A large van stopped right outside the imaging lab doors and Rachel stepped out.

Coming into the lab, she announced, " Your things are already on their way to the ranch house, now all we need is you! I have a couple of vans waiting and some groceries to get you started, Mia and her friends are waiting to see you."

She and George held the lab doors open while Phillip went ahead and held the van's door for Ayesha. She sinuated into the van and sat on her coiled tail, Natalie slipped in next to her, leaving room for her dad.

Rosalind and Katherine slipped into the second van and were joined by George. Rachel climbed into the lead van and they pulled out of the hospital driveway and headed out across town.

Edith Wharton was piloting the van George and the two middle sisters rode in.

George spoke up first, "Thanks for your help Edith, we really appreciate it!" he turned and said, "Katherine, Rosalind, I'd like you to meet Edith Wharton. She and her husband Edward, are costumers and they made all of Mia's clothing. Their girls are with Mia right now, at the house."

Edith looked up at the rear view mirror and said cheerfully, "It's a pleasure to meet you ladies, I can't tell you how much fun we've had designing and making clothes for Mia. My husband and I have our note book and tape measure with us, if you don't mind, we'd like to measure all of you tonight. If you're not too tired."

Rosalind grinned and quickly replied, "We'd love to get measured and meet our sister's friends!" Katherine just smiled, she was still a bit shy, never having been around anyone not a member of her immediate family.

She was still getting used to Mia being married and living in a distant land, now she was in that distant land and she was a bit overwhelmed.

Leaving Phoenix behind, they drove out into the desert and after taking a secondary road for several miles. The leading van signaled a turn and left the roadway, kicking up dust as it negotiated the unpaved road.

Coming to a gate, Rachel opened the gate and they pulled through, George closed the gate and locked it before they resumed their trek.

A few minutes later they repeated their performance at a second gate. He glanced back at the sisters to say something and saw that they had fallen asleep in spite of the rocking of the van.

He nudged Edith's elbow and she nodded knowingly, the excitement had worn off and sleep had overcome them. With practiced ease, Edith maneuvered the big van around and over the bigger bumps and rattles until finally, she stopped the van alongside the box van in the driveway of the ranch house.

The outside lights came on and the door opened wide. Mia sinuated outside, her amber eyes brimming with tears of joy, her advanced state of pregnancy clearly visible, George hastily exited the van and swept Mia into his open arms, their lips locked in a lingering kiss.

Ayesha and Phillip exited the first van and embraced the young couple, Ayesha and Mia clung to each other and wept freely while Phillip gave George a fatherly embrace.

Katherine was crying as she and Mia embraced fiercely, Rosalind swept in and wrapped her arms around both of her sisters.

Natalie anxiously sinuated around and around until the older girls opened up their embrace and gathered her in. The sisters reunited once again.

Mia's friends had come outside and were laughing and crying all at once, photographs were taken and Edward and Edith joined their daughters in being happy for the family.

Rachel stood to one side dabbing at her eyes and watching the flow of emotions, the family had been rescued from a dangerous situation, brought across the world and reunited.

She felt a deep sense of accomplishment, finding the lamia family had been a real boost in the society's fortunes.

They had dealt with vampires and werewolves for centuries and had developed a cordial relationship with the remaining warriors.

Rescuing the lamias and the treasure trove of ancient scrolls possessed by Ayesha, could possibly lead to other hybrid human species being found and protected.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the lamias surrounding a very pregnant Mia and placing their hands upon her distended abdomen, their faces beaming with love and affection for the coming child.

Privately, she wondered if George had mentioned yet that Mia was carrying twins.

The bundle of lamias had separated and George took Mia's hand, they looked at each other and the love between them was apparent to all.

George looked at his in-laws and said with a big smile, "Mia and I have an announcement... We could have told you before now, but we wanted it to be a surprise. We have discovered that Mia is, in fact, carrying... TWINS!"

Mia's face was radiating happiness and George was blushing profusely.

Ayesha's face gaped in astonishment, her unmarried daughter's faces lit up in amazement and Phillip grinned hugely.

"T... T, Twins? You said twins?" gasped Ayesha, "Lamias have always borne one child at a time, I've never heard of a lamia bearing twins, is this possible?"

Through his blushing, George replied, "Twins run in my mother's side of the family, it's the only thing I can think of. My sisters are twins, my mom was a twin and her mom was a twin."

Ayesha smiled at him and said softly, "You still blush even after being married to Mia and becoming a father, you truly are, an innocent!"

Turning to face the group Ayesha declared proudly, "I am going to be a grandmother of twins, this has not happened before to my knowledge. The scrolls will be consulted and this birth will be recorded in our annals!"

The Wharton family standing there came forward and Mia said happily to her family, "Everybody, these are my friends, the Wharton family..." she began dabbing at her eyes and she sniffled a bit, "I can't tell you how happy I am, I now have with me my friends and my family, I lack the words... I am so grateful to all of you and I worry that I could never begin to repay you for all your help and kindness!"

The Wharton family gathered around her and embraced her, they all wept freely, the tears of joy freely flowing.

The oldest girl, Iris stepped over to Mia's gathered family and said cheerfully, "Welcome to America, to your new home, to help welcome you, we made a big pot of stew and baked fresh cornbread to go with it, we hope you'll like it." Mia clapped her hands together and cried, "Everybody, come inside we have food and drinks for everyone. My friends and I made it, so let's dig in!"

Mia led her family into the ranch house, Ayesha being the eldest, entered first.

She sinuated about the living room admiring the furnishings. She turned and smiled at Mia to say, "You have done well, eldest daughter."

Mia smiled and said brightly, "George did much of the work, I really just pointed and said 'put it here.' It was his idea to move the larger furniture out to make room for my tail when I sit. Now that all of you are here, we will be able to visit each other without it getting too crowded."

Soon, the house was filled with people, both human and lamia, all of them happily eating the stew and munching on the warm cornbread dripping with melting butter.

The humans quickly learned to be mindful of the lamia tails while moving about the spacious room and the lamias thoughtfully coiled up their tails when sitting.

Ayesha asked George to show her the houses that had been built for her family, he grinned at her and picked up a lantern.

The two of them slipped out the door and he led her down a smooth gravel pathway to the home site.

The houses all had an organic look to them and they blended into the landscape. At present, there were six of them completed and four more were under construction.

They stopped in front of the nearest house and paused to admire it in the lantern's glow. Ayesha queried, "These look much different from your house, why is that?" George smiled and answered.

"Mia did much of the designing of these houses, they are designed from a lamia's standpoint and comfort was a chief criterion. In the interest of the environment, the houses are pretty much self sustaining and get much of their energy needs from either solar panels or a small wind farm that provides electricity for all of the houses here. Water comes from wells on the ranch and sewage is released into a septic system where the water and the solids are separated for disposal."

George gestured in a wide sweep of his arm, "Over there is some pretty rich soil, we've brought in several hundred tons of topsoil and mixed it in with the existing soil. This is where our food will be largely grown. To satisfy your hunting instincts, there are free ranging goats and chickens waiting to get caught for dinner."

George beamed at Ayesha and declared, "Welcome to your new home!"

They both heard a brief smattering of applause behind them and upon turning about, they saw the rest of the gang standing in the glow of George's lantern.

Mia sinuated forward to join them and she turned to face the group, she smiled and said happily, "George and I designed these houses for our family, I tried to imagine what each of you would like in a house and we incorporated those ideas into the design."

George grinned and said, "We avoided any square corners, the interiors are all, smooth and curved inside, not a sharp angle at all."

His grin broadened and he said playfully. "Wait'll you see your bathrooms, Mia helped us design the toilets and sinks and most importantly, the bath tubs!" Mia grinned and quipped happily, "They're great for a good soaking! We use ours all of the time and we love it!"

George dug into his pocket and opened the door to the house, reaching inside he flipped on the lights and stepped to one side.

Ayesha linked arms with Phillip and the two ventured inside, Natalie cried, "Wait for me!" and she quickly joined them.

Edith Wharton asked George curiously, "Just how big inside are these houses anyway?" He replied, "They're fairly roomy actually, the bulk of the house is below grade level to make it easier to blend in. From the air they're nearly invisible, we built them like that on purpose." "Whatever for?" "Simple, once word gets out of this family's existence? The air over this ranch could get rather busy with folks wanting a look see."

Edith chuckled and remarked, "I see what you mean, while we've become quite accustomed to seeing Mia and tend to forget her uniqueness. Other people will not likely react as we have and now that you've brought the rest of them here? Natalie will have to go to school, how is that going to be handled? You know they're going to need clothing and pretty things to match." George grinned at her and shrugged, "We'll work it out as we go."

Headlights appeared in the distance and made their way up to the house, George trotted up to the house to greet their uninvited guest before any of the lamias were seen.

Drawing near, he saw it was Sara Thompson carrying a bag of groceries. He turned around and gave the okay to the rest, he greeted Sara pleasantly, "Hi! We weren't really expecting you until tomorrow."

Sara grinned and replied hopefully, "I couldn't wait until tomorrow, so I figured I'd just come up and crash out here if you don't mind?"

Mia sinuated up and the two hugged briefly before Mia glanced in the bag and exclaimed, "Mocha fudge ripple ice cream?! How did you know I've been craving it?" Sara grinned and replied knowingly, "Oh, I just knew I guess."

The rest of the group came up from the houses and joined in. Even though it was very late or rather, very early, everyone was happily getting acquainted.

Edward was showing Ayesha sketches he'd made, of outfits for Mia. They tended towards the Victorian elegance look and had matching accessories, hats, parasols, handbags and even necklaces.

She chuckled when she saw the sketches of Mia pushing a large pram with twin baby lamias inside it and said wistfully, "You've known about her twins for some time now, I'm almost jealous."

Edward grinned and replied merrily, "I hadn't 'officially' known until tonight, but honestly? I've known several women who've had twins and they all looked like Mia before delivery. So, I just sketched her as if she had had twins."

Ayesha smiled at him and said, "Once we get settled in, I wish to ask you about clothing for all of us."

Edward grinned at her and enthused, "We would be delighted! However, there is a large renaissance faire coming up soon and we always have a large booth there and many of our customers in that area come to shop or pick up any special orders we've made for them. The next month or so will be booked solid with faire business."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

That morning Doctor Sims and Sara Thompson gave Mia an extensive exam with a portable ultrasound scanner and pronounced her very healthy, the twins were looking good and would soon be ready to enter the world.

Ayesha hovered around so much that Dr. Sims chuckled and asked her to watch the monitor screen while they did the ultrasound.

The end result was one proud grandmother calling for her husband and soon, phillip stood alongside her and they held each other while Sara pointed out the twins and all of their important bits.

Mia's three sisters sinuated in and also gazed in wonder at the monitor screen. Finishing up the examination, Doctor Sims announced, "We'll be coming up Wednesday of next week and doing some more prenatal tests and check ups prior to the delivery."

The next few days were taken up mostly with settling the lamia family into their new home.

Ayesha had chosen the house she and her family would live in and the bulk of their personal effects were placed inside.

Her mother's precious scrolls were placed in the building that would serve as an archive and store house, it had special shelving made just for the scrolls.

Each scroll had its own niche and the niche was labeled to identify what the scroll had on it. When Rachel Thompson finally saw them, she dabbed at her blue eyes and said in a voice thick with emotion. "Thank you so much Ayesha, this will be the beginning of an archive of knowledge for your people. As we find other sub species humans, their knowledge will be added to this beginning."

Rachel then handed her a leather bound volume. "When you find the time, will you write down your story, your own family's history? This volume is made of archival grade paper and will be added to this archive."

She grinned at her and said cheerfully, "Don't worry, we've got Mia writing one too!"

A week later, Doctor Sims and Sara arrived for the prenatal exam, with them came another nurse who specialized in difficult deliveries, she would be assisting Doctor Sims in the delivery room and had been briefed on Mia's case.

Still, the sight of a very pregnant Mia was not something Roberta Johnson RN and former combat medic had ever expected to see.

Her dark eyes opened wide upon seeing Mia and she exclaimed, "Lord have mercy! You are real! I thought Doctor Sims was messing with me when she told me about you!"

Roberta became all professional after that and soon, was assisting Doctor Sims with the final exam before Mia's delivery, while Sara worked her magic with the medical imager.

Following the examination, the trio looked over what would be used as a delivery room, a spare bedroom had been stripped bare of furnishings and only items for the delivery remained.

George had scrubbed and painted the room top to bottom and had stapled plastic sheeting over the windows to keep out dust.

The room even smelled like a delivery room. Roberta stood in the room with her hands on her slim hips and pronounced, "It passes my inspection Doctor, I'd deliver a baby in here without hesitation!" a smile on her chestnut hued face.

She turned to see the rest of the lamias gathered to hear her opinion on the room and she gaped briefly before blurting out, "They sure never told me about lamias in school and now I'm seeing a bunch of 'em!"

Doctor Sims chuckled and said, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help, Roberta. I figured with your experiences in the military, that a field delivery would be a snap." Roberta grinned and quipped, "I can handle delivering during a firefight, but seeing women with snake tails? I gotta admit, nursing school sure never covered this!"

Ayesha smiled at her warmly and said gently, "I appreciate your help nurse, in spite of your fears you're still a professional. We lamias can sense when someone is uncomfortable around us and we try to keep our distance from those who fear our differentness. Believe me, we have had reason to fear humans ourselves, we were hunted in ancient times for sport."

Roberta smiled back at Ayesha and replied, "I've known prejudice and fear myself ma'am, being black means I get associated with negative things and I have been discriminated against by people whom I thought were better than that."

After Doctor Sims, Roberta Johnson and Sara had left, George and his in-laws stood outside talking about the impending birth, Phillip was inside with Mia talking to her, she was feeling very close to her father and wanted him to hold her hand.

Behind George came the sound of a rock falling and crashing through the brush, he saw the lamias suddenly lock their eyes on something and Katherine cried, "There's someone up there!" and she pointed over his head.

George spun around and plainly saw a face peering down at them from the rocks above the house.

The face disappeared and the lamias took off after it before George could say anything, he started after them and was quickly left behind.

Gamely, he struggled to catch up, crashing through the sparse vegetation and scrambling up the rocky face, using both his hands and feet.

Cresting the ridge, he saw them closing on something struggling on the ground, running as fast as he dared, George soon caught up to them and paused for a minute or so while he got his breath back.

What lay in a tangle of webbing, insectoid legs and human limbs was like nothing he had ever seen.

Finally he gasped out," "I had no idea you lamias could move so fast, you left me in the dust!"

He looked the creature over and said, "Now, what have we got here? Ayesha, do you know what she is?"

Ayesha smiled at him and replied, "She is an immature arachne, where we lamias share features with snakes. Arachnes share features with spiders. They typically live in caves or mine shafts or old empty buildings. If there is an old mine around here? That is probably where she lives."

George looked around and spotted the dark opening of a mine a small distance away, he pointed and said, "There is an old mine entrance over there, should we check it out?" Ayesha quickly replied, " No, I wouldn't. Her mother could be still in there and like a lamia. An arachne mother is not to be provoked, she might think we're hurting her child and will come with poison fangs bared."

George looked at the quivering young arachne and said gently to her, "We only wanted to see what you were, we mean you no harm. We'll cut you loose and let you go free, okay?"

He pulled a small knife out of his pants pocket and and carefully cut away the webbing that had entangled her so badly, after several minutes of this, he stepped back and put away his knife.

She unfolded her many legs and rose shakily to her feet, then looked herself over.

She still had strands of webbing attached to her but she was no longer entangled, she was free.

George was surprised at how tall she was, her reddish primary eyes were level with his own and her smaller, redder secondary and tertiary eyes were above her eyebrows.

Her brownish face was a bit wide and tapered to a narrow chin with a small, pretty mouth and ruddy, well formed lips.

Her shoulders and arms were normal down to mid elbow then a glossy brown chitinous covering covered the rest, giving her long, slender hands and fingers the look of being covered with evening gloves.

She wore a simple outfit that covered her human anatomy and was evidently woven from her own silk, George idly noted that it had no seams whatsoever.

Her hips flared into an enormous spiderlike form with a deep brown, almost black, chitinous covering that gleamed like polished ebony.

Her eight slender legs spanned well over eight feet and resembled an immense black widow's.

For a fleeting moment, he was tempted to look for an hour glass mark on the underside of her abdomen, but decided against it.

Unsure of what to do, she hesitated a moment before saying, "Th...Thank you for not hurting me." George and the three lamias stood absolutely still while the young arachne turned away from them and quickly scuttled towards the mine's opening and slipped inside.

George looked at his mother-in-law and declared, "Rachel is gonna have kittens over this one!"

Ayesha looked thoughtful and muttered, "As far as I know, we've always gotten along with arachnids, with her living so close to us, we'll be interacting with her frequently."

Rosalind said quietly, "She looked about Natalie's age, do you suppose they'll become friends? I do hope so."

George commented, "I noticed her clothing was all silk and there wasn't any seams, she had to have made it herself. I wonder if there could be a market for clothing made by her?" Katherine said cheerfully, "The Wharton's would want to meet her from what Mia has told me about them."

They turned and headed back down to the ranch house to tell the others.

As George made his way along, he couldn't help noticing how easily his serpentine relatives negotiated the terrain.

Sinuating smoothly over and around the rocks and bushes in their path, they made it look so effortless and he realized that lamias had such trim waists for a reason. Sinuating involved a lot of hip and waist movement and the muscles along their waists were quite strong as a result. He grinned to himself, it also made Mia a lot of fun to watch!


End file.
